The furthest organic molecules in the universe have been detected!

An international team of astronomers has detected complex organic molecules in the most distant galaxy to date, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The discovery of molecules familiar from Earth’s smoke provides important insights into the complex chemical interactions that took place in the universe’s early galaxies, thanks to the capabilities of JWST and the careful analysis of the research team.

Einstein’s signature in historical success

Texas A&M University astronomer Justin Spilker and his colleagues used the Webb telescope to locate organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away. Because of its extreme distance, the light detected by astronomers began its journey when the universe was less than 1.5 billion years old, about 10 percent of its current age. The galaxy, named SPT0418-47, was first discovered by the National Science Foundation’s South Pole Telescope in 2013 and has since been studied by several observatories, including the radio telescope ALMA and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, was made possible with the help of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing and the JWST’s powerful instruments. The lensing event, originally predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, happens when two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned from our perspective on Earth. Light from the background galaxy is bent into a ring-like shape known as the Einstein ring. “By combining Webb’s incredible abilities with a natural ‘cosmic magnifying glass,’ we were able to see more detail than we could otherwise see,” Spilker said.

Smoke molecules detected

Data from Webb show the distinctive signature of large organic molecules, similar to fog and smoke, that are the building blocks of cancer-causing hydrocarbon emissions on Earth, which are major contributors to atmospheric pollution. According to scientists, these large molecules are actually quite common in space. Astronomers used to think these were a good sign that new stars were forming, because wherever these molecules were seen, baby stars were also detected.

According to Spilker, new results from Webb show that this idea may not be entirely correct in the early universe. High-resolution images from Webb found areas with smoke but no star formation, as well as many areas where new stars were forming but without smoke.

This discovery marks Webb’s first detection of complex molecules in the early universe, and scientists see it as a turning point, not the end. Spilker made the following important statements in his statement: “Detecting smoke in a galaxy in the early universe? Webb makes it easy to see. Now that we’ve shown this to be possible for the first time, we can’t wait to see if it’s true that there is fire where there is smoke.”